CINCINNATI: World No 1 Roger Federer, No 2 Andy Murray and No 3 Rafael Nadal advanced on Wednesday to the third round of the Cincinnati Masters while Andy Roddick was ousted.

Federer moved on by defeating Argentina's Jose Acasuso 6-3, 7-5, British defending champion Murray defeated Spain's Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 and Nadal vanquished Italy's Andrea Seppi 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3). The biggest upset came when American

Sam Querrey, who won last month at Los Angeles

after runner-up efforts in Indianapolis and Newport, eliminated US fifth

seed Roddick 7-6 (13/11), 7-6 (7/3).

Swiss star Federer, who won his record 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last month but was ousted in the quarter-finals last week at Montreal, will next face Spain's 19th-ranked David Ferrer in the US Open tuneup. Federer will try to capture a sixth consecutive US Open crown and third Grand Slam in a row at Flushing Meadows.

Rogers Cup

TORONTO: World No 1 Diana Safina was eliminated while Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters advanced to the third round of the Rogers Cup here on Wednesday.

France's Aravane Rezai rallied to oust Russia's Safina 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Safina made 17 double faults and struggled after losing last Sunday's final in Cincinnati to Serbia's Jelena Jankovic.

The upset sends Rezai into a matchup against Russia's Alisa Kleybanova, who defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4). Serena Williams ousted Kazakh qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-2 and booked a third-round matchup against Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko.

Belgium's Kim Clijsters ousted ninth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. Clijsters will face Jankovic, who beat Swiss Patty Schnyder 7-5, 6-4.

Sharapova struggled but advanced by ousting Germany's Sybille Bammer, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). Next for her is Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, who beat Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-3. France's Virginie Razzano ousted Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-1. Razzano faces Australia's Samantha Stosur next.

China's Zheng Jie overcame Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki a 7-5, 6-3. She next plays Czech Lucie Safarova, who beat Serbian Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.